A misfiring economy and rising energy prices are racing done by the semi-pro drivers who grind gears each summer at Seekonk Speedway and other small tracks around the Northeast.
Record oil prices are pushing up the cost of many products associated with auto racing, including the fuels used to tow racecars to the tracks and to propel them once they arrive, the parts used in the racecars, and even the food sold in the stands.
“There’s no question that it’s a problem for everyone,” said Francis Venditti, Seekonk Speedway’s owner. “We’re all struggling.”
Operating costs are up at Seekonk Speedway but ticket prices remain about where they have for years, ranging from $1 to $20, depending on the event. Early-season rainouts haven’t helped, canceling the Speedway’s opening day program May 4 and scrubbing races May 31.
The 110-octane fuel used in race cars costs $8.25 a gallon, more than twice the $4.099 a gallon average being paid by the motorists who tool along Route 6 on their way to the weekly races at Seekonk Speedway. But a racecar may burn through only 10 to 20 gallons of the high-octane fuel, costing anywhere from $82.50 to $165, as it whips around the 1/3-mile track during a day’s worth of practice runs, qualifiers and a feature race at the Speedway.
“The fuel cost that’s burned us the most is the towing,” said Chuck Vanada, who’s son, Jake, is a rookie in the pro-stock division at Seekonk. “That’s the fuel crunch that’s eating everyone.”
Fuel costs also eat into the time the all-volunteer race crews spend working on the cars when the vehicles aren’t whipping around a track, according to another racer, Billy Bernard, a contractor from Holliston, Mass.
Holliston is a 45-minute haul from the Speedway, a drive that once wasn’t such a big deal for his crew members. Not so anymore.
“We’re carpooling; we never used to do that.”
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